Radio receiver and method for receiving and playing signals from multiple broadcast channels

ABSTRACT

A radio receiver may comprise a receiver adaptable for receiving a plurality of broadcast streams over a plurality of broadcast channels, wherein the receiver will attempt to receive a selected broadcast stream on a selected broadcast channel, and if the selected broadcast stream is not receivable on the selected broadcast channel, the receiver will attempt to receive the selected broadcast stream on an alternative broadcast channel. A computer readable medium may allow a user of a receiver to create a composite stream comprising at least one portion selected from each of at least two of a plurality of broadcast streams. A method of open interface merge replication may involve comparing data between first and second databases, and if a conflict exists, updating one of the first and second databases with at least a portion of data from the other of the first and second databases to resolve the conflict.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §120, as acontinuation, to the following U.S. Utility Patent Application which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and made part ofthe present U.S. Utility Patent Application for all purposes:

U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/201,984, entitled “RADIO RECEIVERAND METHOD FOR RECEIVING AND PLAYING SIGNALS FROM MULTIPLE BROADCASTCHANNELS,”, filed Aug. 28, 2008, pending, which claims priority to thefollowing U.S. Provisional Patent Application which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety and made part of thepresent U.S. Utility Patent Application for all purposes:

-   -   1.1. U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/969,499,        entitled “RADIO RECEIVER AND METHOD FOR RECEIVING AND PLAYING        SIGNALS FROM MULTIPLE BROADCAST CHANNEL”, filed Aug. 31, 2007.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

This application contains material that is subject to copyrightprotection. Such material may be reproduced by any person exactly as itappears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records. Thecopyright owner otherwise reserves all rights to such material.

BACKGROUND

This application relates generally to radio systems. More specifically,this application relates to a new type of radio receiver as well asassociated systems and methods that support advanced functionality ofsuch receiver and that more broadly apply to other systems.

SUMMARY

A radio receiver may comprise a receiver adaptable for receiving aplurality of broadcast streams over a plurality of broadcast channels,wherein the receiver will attempt to receive a selected broadcast streamon a selected broadcast channel, and if the selected broadcast stream isnot receivable on the selected broadcast channel, the receiver willattempt to receive the selected broadcast stream on an alternativebroadcast channel. A computer readable medium may allow a user of areceiver to create a composite stream comprising at least one portionselected from each of at least two of a plurality of broadcast streams.A method of open interface merge replication may involve comparing databetween first and second databases, and if a conflict exists, updatingone of the first and second databases with at least a portion of datafrom the other of the first and second databases to the extent necessaryto resolve the conflict, whether or not the first and second databasesshare the same format.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE APPENDIX

Appendix A, which is attached hereto and incorporated herein byreference, lists certain EPG and database identifiers as may be used insome embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a radio system for processing broadcaststreams.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a radio system network as describedherein.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram that illustrates one embodiment of an openinterface merge replication process.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram that illustrates one embodiment of anEPG-based composite stream as described herein.

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of a radio receiver.

FIG. 6 is a left side elevational view of the radio receiver of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a back elevational view of the radio receiver of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used herein, the following terms should be understood to have theindicated meanings:

When an item is introduced by “a” or “an,” it should be understood tomean one or more of that item.

“AM” means amplitude modulation.

“Broadcast channel” means a communications medium having one or moreproperties that distinguish such communications medium from one or moreother communications media. The one or more properties may include butare not limited to a particular type of medium (such as, for example,over-the-air, or cable), a particular transmission basis (such as, forexample, terrestrial or satellite), a particular type of signal (suchas, for example, digital, analog, or HD), a particular type of signaltransmission (such as, for example, AM, FM, or IP), a particularfrequency or frequency range, a particular source (such as, for example,a radio station, a computer server, or an end-user computer), orcombinations thereof.

“Broadcast stream” means a communications signal representative ofselected data. A broadcast stream may be transmitted over one or morebroadcast channels.

“Communications signal” means a signal representative of data. Acommunications signal may include but is not limited to an acoustical,electrical, electromagnetic, optical, or other signal, or a combinationthereof. Examples of communications signals include but are not limitedto radio frequency signals, television signals, microwave signals,cellular signals, optical signals, and combinations thereof.

“Composite stream” or “CS” means a communications signal representativeof data selected from a plurality of broadcast streams.

“Component” means any part, feature, or element, alone or incombination.

“Comprises” means includes but is not limited to.

“Comprising” means including but not limited to.

“Computer” means any programmable machine capable of executingmachine-readable instructions. A computer may include but is not limitedto a general purpose computer, microprocessor, computer server, digitalsignal processor, mobile phone, personal digital assistant, or acombination thereof. A computer may comprise one or more processors,which may comprise part of a single machine or multiple machines.

“Computer program” means a list of instructions that may be executed bya computer to cause the computer or another device in communication withthe computer to operate in a desired manner.

“Computer readable medium” means an article of manufacture having acapacity for storing one or more computer programs, one or more piecesof data, or a combination thereof. A computer readable medium mayinclude but is not limited to a computer memory, hard disk, memorystick, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical disk (such as a CD or DVD),zip drive, or combination thereof.

“Data” means information.

“Database” means a collection of data embodied in at least one computerreadable medium and organized in a suitable way to permit a computer toselect one or more desired portions of such data.

“Electronic program guide” or “EPG” means a computer program havinginstructions for displaying data representative of one or more broadcaststreams that may be available over one or more broadcast channels. AnEPG may or may not have instructions for allowing a user to navigatethrough data representative of a plurality of broadcast streams and toselect a desired one of the plurality of broadcast streams. An EPG mayor may not include a graphical user interface.

“FM” means frequency modulation.

“Having” means including but not limited to.

“HD” means of or relating to In-Band On-Channel digital signalcommunications. An HD signal may comprise data of any desirable type,including without limitation text, audio, or other content, such as forexample text messages concerning a song title, artist name, weatherforecast, weather warning, traffic update, sports score, advertiserphone number, web address, or any other customized text message readout,or any combination thereof. An HD signal may be transmitted as asubstantially continuous digital data stream or an intermittent digitaldata stream and may be broadcast together with, or over the samebroadcast spectrum as, existing AM or FM broadcast spectrums, forexample. HD signals may also be multicasted, or split into severalbroadcast channels over a broadcast spectrum.

“IP” means Internet Protocol.

“LED” means light emitting diode.

“Marks” means electronic metadata associated with an entertainment datafile or broadcast stream that can be used for identifying, indexing,authentication, matching, purchasing, previewing, or organizing thereceived entertainment data file or broadcast stream on a receiver.

The “marks” may also be used for storing the entertainment data file orbroadcast stream on the receiver or viewing information about the datafile or broadcast stream, such as information about the artist or otherinformation.

“Marking” or “marked” means a process of using a button or selectorswitch on a receiver to select marks for identifying, indexing,authentication, matching, purchasing, previewing or organizing anentertainment data file or broadcast stream.

“Memory” means a device that is used to store or process data, programs,instructions, or any other information on a temporary or permanentbasis.

“Podcast” means a file, including but not limited to audio, visual, oraudiovisual data, that may be transmitted or distributed over theInternet or other network in one or more user-defined time frames, suchas for example through a publish and subscribe model. A podcast may bearchived on the Internet or other network or may be streaming such thatit is accessible by a computer or receiver automatically and may bedownloaded or transmitted to the receiver or computer on demand or on asubscription basis.

“Receiver” means an apparatus adaptable for receiving a communicationssignal and generating a perceptible representation of suchcommunications signal, either directly or through one or more otherdevices. Such perceptible representation may include but is not limitedto an audible representation, a visible representation, a tactilerepresentation, or a combination thereof. Such perceptiblerepresentation may be perceptible either with or without the aid ofanother device, such as, for example, an earpiece, headphone, headset,handset, viewing lens, or the like. A receiver may or may not have aspeaker, display screen, light (such as an LED), vibrator, or otheroutput device, or a combination thereof. A receiver may or may notinclude a computer processor, memory, or other computer components.

“RSS” or “Really Simple Syndication” means an XML format fordistributing periodically updated information on the Internet or othernetwork. RSS may be used, for example, to enable a publish and subscribemodel to work in podcasting, blogging, and other websites that change oradd to their content regularly.

“ST” means satellite.

“Tags” means electronic metadata associated with an entertainment datafile or broadcast stream that can be used for identifying, indexing,authentication, matching, purchasing, previewing, or organizing thereceived entertainment data file or broadcast stream on a receiver. The“tags” may also be used for storing the entertainment data file orbroadcast stream on the receiver or viewing information about the datafile or broadcast stream, such as information about the artist or otherinformation.

“Tagging” or “tagged” means a process of using a button or selectorswitch on a receiver to select tags for identifying, indexing,authentication, matching, purchasing, previewing or organizing anentertainment data file or broadcast stream.

“Transmitter” means an apparatus adaptable for transmitting acommunications signal.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/499,434 filed Aug. 4, 2006, Ser. No.11/477,156 filed Jun. 27, 2006, and Ser. No. 11/365,545 filed Mar. 1,2006 are incorporated herein by reference. The methods discussed inthose references may be used as a basis for tagging or marking broadcastfiles used in some embodiments. One embodiment comprises a method ofallowing a user to purchase or copy a broadcast file after tagging ormarking the broadcast file on a receiver. A user may be given anopportunity to purchase the broadcast file electronically. The tags ormarks may indicate where the broadcast file will be purchased from orcopied from, for instance, from an iTunes® web site or other web site.The tags or marks may also indicate to other users of other receiverswhere they may obtain a license for the broadcast file. The tags ormarks may indicate the artist, title of the song, or other dataassociated with the broadcast file.

One embodiment as described herein is directed to a portable or desktopradio receiver adaptable for receiving one or more broadcast streams onone or more broadcast channels. Some embodiments may allow a user of aportable or desktop radio receiver to create a composite stream from aportion of one or more broadcast streams.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a receiver 100 may comprise a computer and amemory and may be in communication with one or more sources ofcommunications signals, such as FM, AM, HD, ST, and IP broadcastsources, for example, and one or more central computer systems 110. Eachcentral computer system 110 may include but is not limited to a computer104 and a data storage device 106 in communication with computer 104.Although only one computer 104 and data storage device 106 are shown inFIG. 2, more than one computer 104 and data storage device 106 may beprovided. As shown in FIG. 2, a receiver 100 (indicated as R.sub.1 . . .R.sub.N) may be in communication with computer 104, either directly orvia a network 102, which may include but is not limited to the Internet.Each receiver 100 may be capable of receiving communications signalsover one or more broadcast channels from the various broadcast sources,such as the FM, AM, HD, ST, and IP broadcast sources shown in FIG. 1, aswell as one or more composite streams (CS) from one or more centralcomputer systems 110 as described further below. Each receiver 100 mayalso have a transmitter adaptable for transmitting communicationssignals to computer 104 of one or more central computer systems 110 asdescribed further below. The communications signals transmitted betweenand among the broadcast sources, receivers 100, and one or more centralcomputer systems 110 may include primary data, such as songs,advertisements, talk shows, game shows, DJ chatter, news reports,weather reports, traffic reports, and sports reports, for example, aswell as ancillary data, such as EPG data 101, for example.

In some embodiments, EPG data 101 may contain metadata informationwithin broadcast streams, such as radio, television, satellite, andInternet broadcast streams. EPG data 101 may include but is not limitedto metadata information such as station names, station call signs,broadcast frequencies, broadcast channel types, broadcast stream types,program titles, album titles, song titles, artist names, genres,durations, start times, end times, affiliated station carriers,keyword(s), and other metadata information relating to one or morebroadcast streams. One or more central computer systems 110 may includevarious computer program applications, such as an EPG update interface111 and a device services interface 113 to facilitate open interfacemerge replication as described further below. Data storage device 106 ofone or more central computer systems 110 may be used to store variousdata, such as EPG data 101 and user preference data.

In some embodiments, a receiver 100 may have the capacity to receive anddisplay EPG data 101 and to tune, browse, capture or download a selectedbroadcast stream on an available broadcast channel using metadatainformation from an EPG. For example, receiver 100 may be programmed tobrowse EPG data 101 such as station call signs, and a user may select acertain station call sign such as “KISS FM,” for example. The receiver100 may then be tuned to the user selected station, having the call sign“KISS FM.”

The receiver 100 may include volatile memory storage to be used as abuffer for real time listening, providing the receiver 100 the abilityto rewind, pause, and fast forward up to a desired point. The receiver100 may also incorporate an EPG to enable a scheduled recording of oneor more selected broadcast streams or enable an immediate recording ofreal time programming. In some embodiments, a receiver 100 may have thecapacity to receive and display EPG data 101 and to tune, browse,capture or download a selected broadcast stream on an availablebroadcast channel. A broadcast stream may be selected manually oraccording to predefined rules. For example, receiver 100 may beprogrammed to attempt to tune in to a selected broadcast stream over aselected broadcast channel, and if the selected broadcast stream is notavailable on the selected broadcast channel, receiver 100 may thenattempt to tune in to the selected broadcast stream over an alternativebroadcast channel. Receiver 100 may be programmed to continue to searchfor the selected broadcast stream on successive alternative broadcastchannels according to one or more rules of priority, which may bepredetermined or established by a user, until the selected broadcaststream is found or all available broadcast channels are exhausted. Forexample, a user may select a certain radio station, such as KISS FM, andreceiver 100 may be programmed first to seek the KISS FM station on anHD FM broadcast channel, and if that fails then seek that station on aregular FM broadcast channel, and if that fails then seek that stationon an IP broadcast channel. Of course, any desired rules of priority maybe used, and the foregoing example is merely illustrative. Receiver 100may be programmed such that if the selected broadcast stream is notavailable on any of the available broadcast channels, then receiver 100may display a message or produce a signal indicating that the selectedbroadcast stream is not currently available, tune in to a default oralternate broadcast stream, or go into a sleep mode. The default oralternate broadcast stream may be determined according to userpreference data, such as a preferred genre, for example. Receiver 100may also be programmed such that if the selected broadcast stream is notavailable on any of the available broadcast channels, then receiver 100may allow the user to select comparable broadcast streams.

Some embodiments may include a database that may store the availabilityof various broadcast streams on various broadcast channels. The databasemay be stored locally in a memory in receiver 100, remotely in datastorage device 106, or in both of those locations. In variousembodiments, the database may contain data for all available broadcaststreams in a given geographic area. Using a receiver 100, a user maybrowse or tune to all broadcast streams accessible in a user selectedgeographic area. For instance, a user may program a receiver 100 tosearch for broadcast streams in a certain zip code. The receiver 100 mayaccess the database stored locally in a memory in receiver 100, remotelyin data storage device 106, or in both of those locations to determineall broadcast streams on various broadcast channels available in theselected zip code. Additionally, broadcast streams and broadcastchannels may be searchable using the database based on a selected city,state, or distance from receiver 100. Other embodiments may allow a userto search for all broadcast streams and broadcast channels using thedatabase based on the IP address of receiver 100, the GPS location ofreceiver 100, positional information of receiver 100, or othergeographic location of the receiver 100.

Some embodiments allow a receiver 100 to upload data of variousbroadcast streams on various broadcast channels in a given geographicarea to the database in order to effectively populate the database forthe benefit of all users. For instance, if a user in San Antonio, Tex.tunes his or her receiver 100 to a selected broadcast stream overbroadcast channels HD or FM, such user may upload the data from his orher receiver 100 to the database to benefit all other users in SanAntonio, Tex. seeking to tune to the selected broadcast stream. If asecond user using another receiver 100 travels to San Antonio, Tex., thesecond user's receiver 100 may download data from the database to locatethe same selected broadcast stream over broadcast channels HD or FM. Ofcourse, the same upload and download processes may be applied to anyavailable broadcast channel, not merely HD or FM. The upload anddownload processes may be automatic or upon request. Uploading of datato the database may enable multiple users to share data about broadcaststreams, broadcast channels, and user preferences among a plurality ofreceivers 100. For example, a local user in Rome, Italy may upload datato the database from that user's receiver 100 allowing a tourist usertraveling in Rome, Italy, for instance, to download data from thedatabase. The tourist may then tune to all available broadcast streamsover various broadcast channels in Rome. As another example, a user inNew York City may discover a new broadcast stream not previously storedin the database. The user may upload the newly discovered broadcaststream data to the database and allow other New York City users to tuneto the newly discovered broadcast stream after downloading the data fromthe database.

Other embodiments may allow a user of a receiver 100 to automaticallydownload data from the database at periodic intervals. A user may alsomanually download data to receiver 100 from the database. Receiver 100may take various forms, such as a desktop device or a mobile handhelddevice. Some embodiments may include user preferences that may be storedin the database such that a user preference stored for a desktopreceiver may be transferred to a mobile handheld receiver, or viceversa.

Each broadcast channel may have a theoretically unlimited number ofbroadcast streams using that broadcast channel as a transport mechanism.Broadcast streams may interact with a system as described herein in atleast three ways:

1. EPG Data Upload—EPG data from each broadcast stream may be uploadedto central computer system 110 via an EPG update interface on a regularor otherwise determined basis. The composite of this information fromall broadcast streams across all broadcast channels may form a masterEPG, which may be stored on data storage device 106.

2. Content Broadcast—The content of a broadcast stream may be broadcastby a source and picked up by a receiver 100 using, for example, itsmulti-channel receiver functionality.

3. Backchannel Reporting—A receiver 100 may report backchannel data toone or more central computer systems 110 concerning one or morebroadcast streams received by receiver 100. This backchannel data mayinclude, but is not limited to, listener play information, such asinformation about the particular content played, the types of contentplayed, when the content is played, where the content is played, and soforth. Such backchannel data may be used by broadcasters to provideparticular information targeted to certain listeners or geographic areasin future broadcasts.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various datamay be stored in various locations and in various formats in a system asdescribed herein. For example, desired playlist data may be stored inmemory on one or more receivers 100 and on data storage device 106, andthe formats in those locations may not be the same. To facilitate theuse of such data in an orderly manner, a method of open interface mergereplication (“OIMR”) may be used. In such a system, certain dataelements may at times be updateable in a variety of locations, such as,for example, on one receiver 100, another receiver 100 used by the sameuser, or data storage device 106, and those devices may not use the samedata format. Also, of those devices, the situation may be such that noone data store is necessarily the “master,” that is, the device whoseinformation prevails if a conflict exists.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a method of OIMR. This method mayallow two or more devices or databases 118 and 116, such as a memory ofreceiver 100 and data storage device 106 of one or more central computersystems 110, respectively, to be synchronized with each other as“requester” 114 and “synchronizer” 112. These devices may be able tostore data locally, access data stored elsewhere, or both. Further, thedata may or may not be of the same format. Such a solution may typicallybe oriented toward the synchronizer 112 being the master, but that neednot be the case. The conflict resolution mode may be set as desired suchthat either the requester 114 or the synchronizer 112 wins any conflictsor “deltas” that are identified. The processing logic may be dividedbetween the requester 114 and the synchronizer 112 in any relativeamounts as desired. For example, a majority of the processing logic maybe performed on whichever device is selected as the master. Depending onthe particular situation, not all of the steps listed in FIG. 3 may benecessary, or additional steps may be included if desired.

Still referring to FIG. 3, a method of OIMR may involve a plurality ofsteps indicated as 1-15. For example, a requester 114 may request anupdate from a synchronizer 112, such as by sending a ping to a server.Such a request may be made, for example, manually, electronically,automatically or otherwise from time to time. In return, thesynchronizer 112 may compare the data on the two devices and determinethe differences, if any. Whether or not any differences or “conflicts”exist, the synchronizer 112 may then communicate an update of data tothe requester 114, which may be accepted or rejected, for example, inaccordance with predetermined instructions. On the other hand, therequester 114 may at times act as the master, such that any conflictsmay be resolved in its favor. The data involved herein may include, forexample, time settings, play lists, EPG information, records, recordsetsor other data or portions thereof. The data, transactions, and/ordevices involved in OIMR may be uniquely identified, such as byassigning a globally unique identifier (“GUID”) to each of them, inorder to sufficiently distinguish the different pieces of data.

Referring again to FIG. 3, a method of OIMR may have a plurality ofapplications. For example, a receiver 100 may allow a user to arrange a“preset” such that the user may quickly recall a favorite broadcaststream with the push of a button. However, the user may have a secondreceiver 100 at home or another location with a different preset or maychoose a different preset through a web interface provided by one ormore central computer systems 110 shown in FIG. 1. In such a situation,for example, the user may wish that any changes to a preset made via theweb interface automatically take effect on the home receiver(s) as well.Thus, questions may arise, for example, as to which user settingscontrol, or whether the home receivers are affected by changes madeelsewhere. A preset may be bi-directional. For example, a preset may beset on a local receiver and pushed up to a centralized server, or suchpreset may be set on a centralized server via a web site and pushed to alocal receiver or other devices. A local database on a receiver may beincrementally updated such that a given update may not necessarilyreplace all of the database but may only update the difference inversions as needed or desired between the local database and acentralized database, for example. Each radio station, such as over theair (OTA), Internet, and HD2, for example, may be given a unique ID—forexample, a KOGA-FM OTA station may have a different station ID than aKOGA streaming Internet station, and a KOGA HD2 station may have adifferent station ID than the OTA station and the streaming Internetstation. While a preset is used herein as an example, other types ofdata, content or instructions may also be changed on various systemcomponents and in a variety of ways. Thus, changes or updates may bemade to similar data in a plurality of locations.

Receiver 100 may be programmable to perform time shifted playback, inwhich a user may save some data to a local storage device on receiver100 and play that content at a later time. Receiver 100 may also beprogrammable to allow a user to create personal playlists and send suchplaylists to another user, such as through the database discussedherein. Receiver 100 may also be programmable to allow a user to createa composite stream and distribute that composite stream, or an EPG forthat composite stream, to others.

FIG. 4 illustrates the creation of an EPG-based composite stream 130that comprises one or more pieces of data selected from one or morebroadcast streams 120, 122, 124, 126, and 128. This functionality ofreceiver 100 may allow a user to create a unique “station” and to shareit with others without having to have access to the physical equipmentof the source of a broadcast channel or broadcast stream. For example, auser may compile a unique play list including his or her favoritestreams or songs and may share that play list with others. Further, auser may, for example, record a series of selected songs from a varietyof broadcast streams and may then have the ability to share thatrecording with other users. Composite streams may provide an avenue forthe publication of a wide variety of specialized and unique broadcaststreams without the need for additional broadcast channelinfrastructure. This may create an environment for low costexperimentation with new data formats and also economic viability forniche content, or data, formats.

Receiver 100 may take various forms, such as a desktop device or amobile handheld device that may dock in a car, at home, or runs off of abattery. One embodiment 115 of a receiver 100 is illustrated in FIGS.5-7. Receiver 115 may have one or more N/W/T/S presets 11 for news,weather, traffic and sports. A user may create a playlist of one or moreN/W/T/S presets 11, for instance, a sports playlist for sports broadcaststreams in Dallas, Tex. In some embodiments, one or more N/W/T/S presets11 may include broadcast streams targeted to school closings, or lunchmenus at schools in a geographic area, for example. In otherembodiments, one or more N/W/T/S presets 11 may include traffic datafrom various traffic services. A user may program which traffic routesand other data they are most interested in and the receiver 115 maydisplay the data or traffic routes in either a text or graphical manner.Targeted news, weather, traffic and sports may therefore be broadcast toa receiver 115 based on a user's configuration.

Still referring to FIGS. 5-7, a receiver 115 may also include one ormore channel presets 13; a tuning knob 19 for controlling tuning ofreceiver 115 while playing over the air (OTA) signals or WiFi signals; avolume and on/off knob 21; an infrared (IR) window 7 for communicatingwirelessly with other communications devices; a record button 9 forrecording data on receiver 115; a mute switch 15 for muting receiver115; a display 17 for displaying information; an internal speaker 51 forplaying sound; an alarm button 5 for activating or disabling a userconfigured alarm; and an included antenna 3 for receiving broadcaststreams. Included antenna 3 may be a telescoping or other suitable typeof antenna. Alternatively or additionally, an internal antenna may beprovided. A snooze button (not shown) may also be included on thereceiver 115.

Most radio alarms may only be configured to assign a buzzer or an FM orAM broadcast channel as the alarm sound. If the FM or AM broadcastchannel is weak, the alarm sound may be radio static instead of theselected broadcast stream. In one embodiment, a receiver 100 may beprogrammed to assign a recorded playlist as the alarm sound. Thereceiver 100 may also be programmed to assign a user selected broadcaststream whereby if an FM or AM broadcast channel is weak, the receiver100 may search for an alternative broadcast channel such as an HD or IPbroadcast channel, for example. The receiver 100 may also be programmedto assign a default buzzer as the alarm sound. In some embodiments, thereceiver 100 may be programmed to assign a podcast as the alarm sound.Other receivers 100 may include an alarm that can be programmed fordayparting, wherein at least two alarm settings, for instance fromMonday to Friday, and Saturday to Sunday, are set.

Referring again to FIGS. 6 and 7, receiver 115 may include an FM antennaswitch 25 to allow a user to select between the included antenna 3 or anexternal antenna (not shown); an AM antenna switch 26 to allow a user toselect between the included antenna 3 or an external antenna (notshown); a 300.OMEGA. FM antenna connection 27; an AM antenna connection28; a 75.OMEGA. FM antenna connection 29; a power connector 31; anetwork port 33; a wireless network port 35; a USB connector 37 forproviding power and/or data to the receiver 115; line in/line out jacks39 to allow the receiver 115 to connect to other audio/video sources orexternal speakers or other output devices; a headphone jack 41; an iPodadapter 42 to allow the receiver 115 to broadcast a communicationssignal from an external iPod; and a base 44. Network port 33, USBconnector 37, and wireless network port 35 may be provided to allow thereceiver 115 to connect to the Internet or other suitable network.Additionally, a receiver 115 may contain an internal wireless adapter toconnect to the Internet or other suitable network. USB connector 37 mayalso be used to connect the receiver 115 to a computer to output soundor data from the receiver 115 to a computer's speakers or other suitabledevice. USB connector 37 may also be used to connect a computer to thereceiver 115 to output sound from the computer to the internal speaker51 of the receiver 115.

Referring again to FIG. 5, in some embodiments, a channel selectorswitch 142 may be included in the receiver 115 for manually selectingone or more broadcast channels, such as AM, FM, HD, or WiFi, forexample. Other embodiments may seamlessly switch between availablebroadcast channels without any manual selection. For instance, HDdigital and IP broadcast channels normally have a time delay inbroadcasting the communications signal. A receiver 115 may first selectbroadcast channels FM or AM after a user selects a broadcast stream,then automatically switch to an HD digital broadcast channel to avoidany time delay. Alternatively, a user may manually force a receiver 115to a certain broadcast channel using channel selector switch 142. Forinstance, a user may be located in a building with poor FM or AMreception. Therefore, a user may program the receiver 115 to only tuneto broadcast channels such as WiFi or other Internet broadcast channels,for example.

Some broadcast channels or broadcast streams require a subscription orpayment of some form to receive and use the broadcast stream orbroadcast channel. For instance, some satellite radio stations requiresubscriptions to receive their broadcast stream. Many conditional accessbroadcast streams or broadcast channels use NDS technology to encryptthe signal, and typically require some form of a pass card or ID toenable the broadcast stream or broadcast channel. Of course, other formsof identification may be used to enable the broadcast stream orbroadcast channel. In one embodiment, a receiver 100 may accessconditional access broadcast streams or broadcast channels by using apass card or ID. The receiver 100 may also support downloading podcastsdirectly to the receiver 100 based on standard RSS subscriptionprocesses or other suitable methods. In an alternative embodiment, areceiver 100 may allow a broadcast stream to be marked or tagged by theuser as a purchase interest. The receiver 100 may include a tag button(not shown) that allows the user to mark or tag a broadcast stream orfile received or played by the receiver 100. The marks or tags may thenbe saved on the receiver 100 and transmitted to the respective retailservice such as iTunes®, Amazon®, or Zune Marketplace™, for example, forpurchase, preview, indexing, or downloading to the receiver 100.

Other and further embodiments utilizing one or more aspects of thesystems and methods described above may be devised without departingfrom the spirit of Applicant's invention. For example, the above OIMRmethodology may be an advantage to any system that seeks to supportmerge replication and database interoperability. Further, the varioussystems, methods, and embodiments disclosed herein may be included incombination with each other to produce variations of the disclosedsystems, methods, and embodiments. Discussion of singular elements caninclude plural elements and vice-versa.

The order of steps in methods described herein may occur in a variety ofsequences unless otherwise expressly stated. The various steps describedherein may be combined with other steps, interlineated with the statedsteps, or split into multiple steps. Similarly, elements describedfunctionally may be embodied as separate components or may be combinedinto components having multiple functions.

The apparatus, systems, and methods disclosed in this application havebeen described in the context of certain exemplary embodiments, and notevery embodiment of the invention has been described. Variousmodifications and alterations to the described embodiments arediscernible to persons of ordinary skill in the art. The disclosed andundisclosed embodiments are not intended to limit or restrict the scopeor applicability of the invention claimed herein, but rather, inconformity with the patent laws, Applicants intend to fully protect allsuch modifications and improvements that come within the scope of theappended claims, including equivalents thereof.

The foregoing figures and written description of specific structures andfunctions are not presented to limit the scope of what Applicants haveinvented or the scope of the appended claims. Rather, they are providedto teach a person of ordinary skill in the art how to make and use theinventions for which patent protection is sought and the best mode ofpracticing the same. Those persons skilled in the art will appreciatethat not all features of a commercial embodiment of the inventions aredescribed or shown for the sake of clarity and understanding. Persons ofordinary skill in the art will also appreciate that the development ofan actual commercial embodiment incorporating aspects of the presentinventions may require numerous implementation-specific decisions toachieve the developer's ultimate goal for the particular commercialembodiment. Such implementation-specific decisions may include, butlikely are not limited to, compliance with system-related,business-related, government-related and other constraints, which mayvary by specific implementation, location and from time to time. While aparticular developer's efforts might be complex and time-consuming in anabsolute sense, such efforts would be, nevertheless, a routineundertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefitsof this disclosure. It must be understood that the inventions disclosedand taught herein are susceptible to numerous and various modificationsand alternative forms.

What is claimed is:
 1. A radio receiver comprising: a receiver adaptablefor receiving a plurality of broadcast streams over a plurality ofbroadcast channels; a computer processor in communication with saidreceiver; and a memory interoperable with the processor to: receive aselection of a selected broadcast stream, receive a selection of apreferred broadcast channel, search availability data from a database,beginning with the preferred broadcast channel and continuing accordingto an order of priority, to determine whether a broadcast channelbroadcasting the selected broadcasting stream is available; and inresponse to the search indicating that there is no broadcast channelbroadcasting the selected broadcasting stream, attempt to tune to anavailable alternate broadcast channel broadcasting an alternate streamhaving content matching a user-preferred genre.
 2. The radio receiver ofclaim 1, the memory interoperable with the processor to: establish theorder of priority based, at least in part, on a user input.
 3. The radioreceiver of claim 1, the memory interoperable with the processor to:determine whether the selected broadcast stream is broadcast on one ofthe plurality of available broadcast channels based on electronicprogram guide data.
 4. The radio receiver of claim 1, the plurality ofbroadcast channels comprises at least one AM channel, at least one FMchannel, at least one HD channel, at least one IP channel, at least oneST channel, and at least one CS channel.
 5. The radio receiver of claim1, wherein the memory is further configured to: store availability dataassociated with various broadcast streams on various broadcast channels.6. The radio receiver of claim 1, the memory further interoperable withthe processor to: allow a user to choose the selected broadcast streambased on an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the radio receiver.
 7. Theradio receiver of claim 1, the memory further interoperable with theprocessor to: allow a user to choose the selected broadcast stream froma list of available broadcast streams within a geographic area.
 8. Amethod comprising: identifying a selected broadcast stream; identifyinga preferred broadcast channel; determining if the selected broadcaststream is available on a first available broadcast channel, the firstavailable broadcast channel is one of a plurality of available broadcastchannels; in response to a determination that the selected broadcaststream is not available on the first available broadcast channelsearching, in a succession according to an order of priority,availability data from a database to determine whether a broadcastchannel broadcasting the selected broadcasting stream is available; andin response to the search indicating that there is no broadcast channelbroadcasting the selected broadcasting stream, attempting to receive anavailable alternate broadcast stream having content matching a userpreference.
 9. The method of claim 8, comprising: selecting thealternate broadcast stream from the plurality of broadcast streams basedon a user preferred genre.
 10. The method of claim 8, comprising:determining whether the selected broadcast stream is available on one ofthe plurality of available broadcast channels based on electronicprogram guide data.
 11. The method of claim 8, the plurality ofavailable broadcast channels comprises at least one AM channel, at leastone FM channel, at least one HD channel, at least one IP channel, atleast one ST channel, and at least one CS channel.
 12. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the selected broadcast stream is a preset broadcaststream.
 13. The method of claim 8, further comprising: storingavailability data associated with various broadcast streams on variousbroadcast channels.
 14. A device comprising: a receiver adaptable forreceiving a plurality of broadcast streams over a plurality of broadcastchannels, the receiver further adaptable for: determining if a selectedbroadcast stream is available on a first broadcast channel, if theselected broadcast stream is not available on the first broadcastchannel, search availability data from a database, beginning with thepreferred broadcast channel and continuing searching through asuccession of broadcast channels according to an order of priority todetermine whether a broadcast channel broadcasting the selectedbroadcasting stream is available; and in response to a determinationindicating that there is no broadcast channel broadcasting the selectedbroadcasting stream, attempting to receive an available alternatebroadcast stream having content matching at least one user preference.15. The device of claim 14, wherein the at least one user preferenceincludes searching for an alternate broadcast stream on the firstbroadcast channel.
 16. The device of claim 14, wherein the at least oneuser preference includes selecting the alternate broadcast stream fromthe plurality of broadcast streams based on preference informationindicating a preferred media genre.
 17. The device of claim 14, thereceiver further adaptable for establishing the order of priority based,at least in part, on a user input.
 18. The device of claim 14, thereceiver further adaptable for determining whether the selectedbroadcast stream is available on one of the first broadcast channel andthe succession of available broadcast channels based on electronicprogram guide data.
 19. The device of claim 14, the plurality ofbroadcast channels comprises at least one AM channel, at least one FMchannel, at least one HD channel, at least one IP channel, at least oneST channel, and at least one CS channel.